Natasha Richardson and Liam Neeson

UPDATE #2: CNN is now reporting Natasha Richardson passed away on Wednesday, March 18 according to a statement released by the family.

UPDATE: An update from People.com most recently updated at approximately 11:40 AM PST quotes a family friend from Tuesday night saying, "There is no chance… It is a fact that her heart is beating but she is brain dead."

Natasha Richardson, wife of actor Liam Neeson and daughter of Vanessa Redgrave, was severely injured in a skiing accident in Canada and was originally reported by the Irish Times as suffering from a "traumatic head injury". Neeson, who was filming in Toronto, flew to be at her bedside in Montreal.

The story then got a little out of hand as the media went wild with speculation beginning with Time Out New York at one time saying she died with a now deleted headline that read "RIP Natasha Richardson 1963-2009" and claimed the news as an "exclusive".

Next came the New York Post claiming Richardson was "brain dead" in a story that is still live despite the fact TMZ is getting in on the game and saying that isn't the case and she is suffering from brain swelling but is not "brain dead."

The most recent news out of the New York Times says "Richardson was flown from Canada to New York City on Tuesday afternoon in serious condition with head injuries suffered the day before in a skiing accident north of Montreal, according to two people close to her family."

Lyne Lortie, a spokeswoman for the Mont Tremblant ski resort in the Laurentian Hills north of Montreal, told the "Times" Richardson had fallen during a beginner's lesson. "It was a normal fall; she didn't hit anyone or anything," Ms. Lortie said. "She didn’t show any signs of injury; she was talking and she seemed all right."

Richardson then started having headaches about an hour later and was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Ste. Agathe, Quebec, about 20 minutes from the resort and then transferred to the Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal later in the afternoon.

Let's hope things aren't as bad as some have said and hope it is simply a matter of irresponsible journalism.

Related post categories: Outside the Theater : Liam Neeson, Natasha Richardson

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